The strength of the economic recovery in China in 2020 defied the expectations of most market observers. According to estimates by Fastmarkets, apparent consumption in the country rose by 9% in 2020 compared with a 12% fall in the rest of the world.Crucially, this increase in supply was a response to a boom in steel demand in the East Asian nation. In the first quarter of 2020, demand (or real con...Read More
European producers of heavy steel plate increased their offer prices in the week to Wednesday March 3 following a rise in the cost of steel slab, sources have told Fastmarkets.Italian re-rollers have been offering plate at ?,?670-720 ($771-857) per tonne ex-works for April delivery products. These new prices, however, have not been heard in any confirmed transactions.As a result, Fastmarkets' week...Read More
Domestic prices in Europe for steel cold-rolled coil increased further over the week to Wednesday March 3 due to a material shortage, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel CRC, domestic, exw Northern Europe, was ?,?860-870 ($1,036-1,048) per tonne on March 3, up by ?,?10-20 per tonne week on week from ?,?840-860 per tonne.The assessment was based on achievabl...Read More
Nickel's futures price on the London Metal Exchange plummeted by over 6% at the 5pm close on Wednesday March 3 following the news that Norilsk Nickel expects to stabilize flooding issues at two of its mines next week. The Russian company, the world's largest palladium and high-grade nickel producer, suspended operations at Oktyabrsky and Taimyrsky mines due to flooding from natural groundwater las...Read More
Nornickel said it would review restarting two nickel and copper mines in the Polar Division on March 9, which were partially suspended on February 24 due to flooding, Fastmarkets understands.The amount of production lost at the Oktyabrsky and Taimyrsky mines, which reportedly account for more than one third of Nornickel's Russian ore, is unknown, but nickel prices on the London Metal Exchange dipp...Read More
Further deals for the supply of aluminium ingot to main Japanese ports (MJP) for the second quarter concluded on Wednesday March 3 at a premium of $148 per tonne cif MJP, market sources told Fastmarkets. The deals were agreed at a premium of $148 per tonne on top of the London Metal Exchange cash price, just below the level agreed in deals on Tuesday at $149 per tonne. Multiple market participants...Read More
The London Metal Exchange three-month copper price picked up above the $9,200 per tonne mark and aluminium neared its 2021 high in morning trading on Wednesday March 3, while the rest of the complex was largely stable following a rally of over 3.5% on copper and tin prices on Tuesday. Copper's price rose by 0.6% on Wednesday morning to around $9,225 per tonne, following increases since the start o...Read More
Spot trading sentiment in the global copper market is low this week with buyers cautious on the high copper price and backwardation, leaving premiums mostly stable except for a slight rise in Rotterdam, sources told Fastmarkets on March 2. The London Metal Exchange cash-to-three-month copper spread is in a $49.75-per-tonne backwardation on March 2Copper buyers are hesitant after the recent copper...Read More
Zinc premiums in Europe rose in the week to Tuesday March 2, with sellers taking advantage of a contango in the London Metal Exchange cash/three-month spread and restricted availability of the galvanizing metal.US lead premium holds near eight-year highHigh freight costs pressure US zinc premiumPreliminary ILZSG estimates put the refined lead market in a 223,100-tonne surplus in 2020Fastmarkets an...Read More
Tata Steel Europe has announced that its chief commercial officer, chief technical officer and executive director of human resources will depart the company without being replaced.Karl Heider, CCO, and Ernst Hoogenes, CTO, will depart at the end of March while Tor Farquhar, the third...Read More
Domestic prices for steel hot-rolled coil in Europe moved further up over the week to Wednesday March 3, due to a coil shortage combined with strong demand, sources have told Fastmarkets.Fastmarkets calculated its daily steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, at ?,?748.75 ($901.83) per tonne on Wednesday, up by ?,?8.75 per tonne from ?,?740.00 per tonne on March 2.The index was...Read More
ArcelorMittal has restarted blast furnace (BF) B at its Ghent plant in Belgium after completing a modernization, the steelmaker said on Wednesday March 3.Originally, the producer planned to resume the BF in mid-February but the restart was postponed due to severe weather conditions."The new BF, which was given an optimal shape, was completely re-lined and equipped with state of the art automation...Read More
Nickel cash prices on the London Metal Exchange have retreated somewhat - returning to levels last seen in mid-February - but sentiment in the US stainless scrap market remains strong; participants were optimistic about improving demand and flows in the spring season, while supply tightness still supported prices. "The start of the demolition season is now upon us and could be a big help in genera...Read More
The Turkish steel mills have continued to hold back from deep-sea scrap purchasing activity and kept their focus on steel sales, market participants told Fastmarkets on Wednesday March 3.The latest transaction was recorded late on February 26, when a steel mill in the Marmara region paid $456 per tonne cfr for Baltic Sea-origin HMS 1&2 (80:20), which raised the daily scrap index for US-origin mate...Read More
A crackdown on industrial activity in Tangshan, China's steelmaking hub, is sending jitters throughout the sector. Fastmarkets examines what it means for the steel industry. Local authorities in the city issued a notice on the evening of Tuesday March 2 to say that it was embarking on a strict crackdown over March on industries that lag behind in terms of measures to lower emissions, with some act...Read More
Offer prices for bulk cargoes of steel scrap to China have continued to move upward in the past day, supported by price increases in China's local scrap market, sources told Fastmarkets on Wednesday March 3.Offers for Japanese heavy scrap (HS), which is equivalent to plate and structural (P&S) quality material, were heard at $510-515 per tonne cfr China on Wednesday.A Japanese trading house was he...Read More
Japanese export scrap prices have continued to increase following new deals to Vietnam, Taiwan and China, market participants told Fastmarkets on Wednesday March 3."More offers are available now and exporters think now is the right time to make money on their scrap stocks," a Japanese scrapyard source said."The exchange rate is getting better so it's more favorable to sell scrap from the Japan mar...Read More
Coal export volumes from Australia's metallurgical coal hub of Queensland fell by 11.7% year on year in January 2021 and by 12.8% month on month, Fastmarkets understands.A total of 16.27 million tonnes of coal - including small volumes of thermal coal - were exported from Queensland in January 2021, compared with 18.43 million tonnes a year earlier and 18.66 million tonnes in December 2020, accord...Read More
Seaborne premium hard coking coal prices in fob markets declined on Wednesday March 3 after buyers lowered their bid prices due to negative short-term sentiment. Fastmarkets indices Premium hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $124.68 per tonne, down $3.08 per tonne Premium hard coking coal, cfr Jingtang: $217.81 per tonne, up $0.50 per tonne Hard coking coal, fob DBCT: $117.66 per tonne, down $2.01 per to...Read More
Iron ore prices increased on Wednesday March 3 amid bullish steel prices and despite the emissions restrictions in Tangshan strengthening, sources said.Fastmarkets iron ore indices 62% Fe fines, cfr Qingdao: $176.40 per tonne, up $0.85 per tonne62% Fe low-alumina fines, cfr Qingdao: $176.41 per tonne, up $0.71 per tonne58% Fe fines high-grade premium, cfr Qingdao: $162.52 per tonne, up $1.60 per t...Read More